The Olden Time Series, Vol. 1: Curiosities of the Old Lottery

Henry Mason BrooksProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
147K words
Chapters
15

Tags

English Originals History and Culture Historical ReappraisalCurious TalesLottery HistorySocial ObservationArchival ResearchLife EssaysPopular NarrativeCultural ChangeOld AmericaFolk Customs

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Olden Time Series, Vol. 1: Curiosities of the Old Lottery by Henry M. BrooksAuthor: Brooks, Henry M. (Henry Mason), 1822-1898,Language: English, Class: F001: United States local history: New England, Release Date: Mar 12, 2006

Editor's review

This is Volume 1 of Henry M. Brooks's Olden Time Series, a compilation of curiosities about old lotteries in New England, belonging to the genre of local history and folklore anecdote collections. By gathering old news items and quoting documents, the author presents how lotteries operated in early American society, their promotional rhetoric, and popular reactions, reading like a light sketch of social customs. Its value lies not in systematic argument but in providing first-hand or near-first-hand source leads, making it suitable for readers interested in the social history of New England from the colonial period to the 19th century, the history of gambling, and print culture. Read it as a collection of historical source essays, noting the public attitudes and commercial promotional techniques it reflects, and compare it with local gazetteers and newspaper history materials. Because it was compiled early, the narrative carries the perspectives of its time; read it with a critical eye and do not treat it directly as general history conclusions.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the table of contents and preface first to understand the compilation format, then skip to chapters of interest.
  2. Mark citation sources and dates while reading to facilitate later verification and further research.
  3. Read alongside New England local gazetteers or early newspaper history materials to enhance contextual understanding.
  4. Compare the promotional rhetoric in the book with today's advertising and make brief reading notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15

FAQ

Is this book a systematic study of lottery history? No. According to the materials, it is a compilation volume in the Olden Time Series, consisting mainly of old news, anecdotes, and document excerpts, focusing on the curious aspects of old New England lotteries rather than building a complete historical argument. Readers should treat it as historical source essays, not as a general history or academic monograph.
What background knowledge is needed to read this book? It is best to have a basic understanding of the social context of New England from the colonial period to the 19th century and to be familiar with the style of early English printed documents. If lacking background, read relevant chapters of a concise American history first; the book contains many old-fashioned expressions and quotations, so keep a dictionary at hand and patiently sort through names, places, and dates.
Can the historical sources in this book be cited directly today? They can be used as leads but should not be cited directly without verification. The author compiled the book in the late 19th century, and the compilation and paraphrasing may carry the perspectives of the time or transcription errors. For research or writing, trace the original newspapers, local gazetteers, and other sources, verify editions and page numbers, and note the secondary-source nature.
Is this book suitable for general history enthusiasts to browse casually? Yes, but be prepared: it is more like a scrapbook of materials than a coherent story. Readers who enjoy curious old news and local anecdotes will find pleasure in it; those expecting complete plots or popular narrative may find it loose. It is advisable to select chapters of interest rather than reading from cover to cover.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Henry Mason Brooks Author · American · 1822–1898

Henry Mason Brooks (1822–1898) was an American writer and researcher of local history and antiquities who long lived in Salem, Massachusetts, and served as secretary of the Essex Institute in Salem. His six-volume Olden Time Series draws mainly on old Boston and Salem newspapers to collect materials on early New England social customs, punishments, and advertisements. The volumes discuss such subjects as old lotteries, curious advertisements, the New England Sunday, the days of the spinning-wheel, literary curiosities, and strange punishments. These works are chiefly compilations that preserve original sources, offering readable historical material on local social life in New England. Public information on his life and scholarly career is limited, and the value of his work lies more in its distinctive subjects and entertaining historical sources.